November 2nd -- Our Sovereign Leader

For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth." Romans 9:17

 Hello Friends!

FNF will be hosted by the three amigos -- Eliel, Ezekiel and Victor this week.

We will start with our feast at 6:30pm.

The guys ask that we please bring juice and dessert to help out.

Our study will begin at 7:30pm. 

I know we said we'd discuss bald men and bears last week but now I'm leaning towards donkeys :)

For the last two weeks we've had awesome participation and our bible discussions averaged nearly two hours. I hope you all will bring a friend, a bible and come on time so that we can wrap up by 9:30pm.

See you tomorrow!

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Sorry, almost forgot prayer requests --

Symon -- unspoken

Trudy -- testifying of God's faithfulness with interview. Praying for classmate whose husband left her and their kids.

Brian -- thankful for study group and Emma's attendance :)

Kirsten -- praying for jobs in TX for both her and TJ; also praying that her certification will be accepted there. Praying that TJ does well in school at Southwestern and that God provides housing and that everything works to His greater good.

Victor -- praying for guidance and direction in life and for anxieties.

Everyone -- guidance and direction in life and anxieties.

Gratuitous Scripture Break:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7

TJ -- Praying that God guides us all into His truth and that the Holy Spirit will mend strained friendships and show us how to reach out to friends who are hurting.

Tancy -- thankful that mom's second ultrasound didn't show another cancerous area.

Caitlin -- praying for peace for her and her family as she continues to battle pancreatic cancer.

Frederico -- praying for friend with a shoulder injury.

Marcus -- praying for injured ankle.

Doreen -- praying for peace and comfort for family of Christabel and James -- Christabel lost her mother.

Vuyo -- praying for families of the Elyton village kids. Guidance and opportunities to reach out to kids and parents. 

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken.

What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord whose people He has chosen as His inheritance! Psalm 33:10-11

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October 26th -- Amorite or am I right?

Please read the NLT version of Psalms 73. The whole thing. It's great. Click HERE.

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T.G.I.F Good people!

ACHTUNG! This last minute post shall be LONG.

FNF Potluck @ Birmingham 1st SDA tonight @ 6:30pm.
3520 Lorna Road, Birmingham, AL 35216

I'll endeavor to recreate Carmen Lau's delicioso potato curry soup and hope you guys will provide everything else.

Please write in the chat box to the left if you can bring any of the following:

Bowls & spoons -- these are important!

Bread or crackers

Side dishes

Fruit

Salad

Drinks

Dessert

We'll have part two of our study "Ahab Buys the Farm" @7:30pm.

Please come and bring a friend and a bible.

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Here are the prayer requests from last week:

Trudy -- classmate struggling with loss/abandonment of husband; praying for her and their kids.

Chichi -- praying for patience and better time management. 

Camille/Tanci -- mom's breast cancer diagnosis

Brian -- thankful for bible study

Marcus -- praying for ankle (healing and returned full range of motion)

Frederico -- friend Artur's mom's death; praying for the family's strength & comfort

Lots of unspoken prayer requests and requests for prayer for important life decisions and health.

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Finally, to close out our October Memm (this is how it should be spelled) Month... I present to you the rejects, or, the honorable mentions. I couldn't make these work for the month but thought they were funny anyway.

See you tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

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October 5th -- Memes, Rap & October Already?!

 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 7:21- 8:2

Hey Peeps!

So I'm a little late but I've fallen in love with memes. They crack me up and I found a website with a ton of Christian ones so, the month of October, in addition to being Breast Cancer/Domestic Violence/Rett Syndrome/Squirrel Awareness month, will be "FNF Meme month". We'll start with the one above which kind of relates to the bible study last Friday and ties into a song by a rapper that I wanted to introduce. 

LeCrae is a crae-zy skilled Christian lyricist from Houston. He just released an album last month but I started listening to his old stuff from YouTube and I'm in love with the words to his songs. The beats are ok-- a lot of Dirty South, heavy bass anthems that encourage you to Go Hard for Jesus & get crunk (yay-yuh!) ... this song is a little more mellow and reads like an urban prayer to Christ for daily sanctification:

If I haven't totally offended you by including both Dos Equis bottles & Babylon wannabe music on the FNF blog, then I'll go ahead and get to the point of the post:

FNF will meet @ Birmingham 1st SDA this Friday evening @ 6:30pm.

The address is 3520 Lorna Road, Birmingham, AL 35216

Since we're having our "feasts" on Fridays and "soup" on Saturday mornings, for the next 8 weeks we will use FNF to study our Sabbath School lessons. Here's a LINK!so you can read up and come prepared to participate like never before :)

We'll have a Taco Soup potluck -- we'll supply the taco soup but need your help with sides.

Please write in the chat box to the left of the website if you can bring one of the following:  

Tortilla chips

Shredded cheese

Cornbread/ bread

Sour Cream

Green onions/Tomatoes

Drinks

Napkins/Forks/Plates/Bowls/Spoons/Cups -- this stuff's important!

Fruit or dessert

I think that's it-- please come early so we can all share in the goodness of the food and also allow time to discuss plans for Saturday morning's Soup project. God Bless & hope you have a wonderful week!

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Sheesh-- this is long.

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Prayer/ Testimonies

Eliel -- praying for uncle who is sick and awaiting a kidney transplant.

Tancy -- praying for grandfather's continued recovery

Kirk -- praying for niece's hypertensive husband. Gave thanks for CT scan that came back normal!

Victor -- thankful for the Sabbath. Unspoken.

Chichi -- unspoken

Praying for those who are looking for employment.

Praying for the kids' program and good weather.

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Prayer for Matt's Family & Friends

"I'm grateful for your sense of humor, your wonderful smile, your great laugh. I'm grateful for memories. I'm grateful for this reminder not to take people for granted. I'm grateful for this sorrow, it's a sign of how much you meant to me. I'm grateful that my belief system tells me death is not the end. I'm grateful for life. I'm grateful for love. I hope you knew how much you were loved, by so many people." Emily S., friend of Matt's.

This week we're praying for:

The family and friends of Matt Bosley who died last Friday of a heart attack. Matt was a wonderful friend and the consummate FNF-er: a lover of God, nature, fun, food, movies & campfire Mafia. We came to know him through his relationship with his best friends, Tre' & Karah Thompson and grieve with them and others at his unexpected death.

There have been other recent, sad developments in the past few weeks and, as I read some of the posts left on Matt's wall by hurting friends, they summed up so eloquently how I've been feeling for awhile now. Here's the last one by Elisa R. As you read it, think not only about friends and loved ones who are no longer with us, but also think about people in your immediate sphere of influence who might be depressed, lonely or struggling with important decisions who could use a listening ear or advice or an invitation to lunch.

",,,Matt had this ability to be sincere and honest with his thoughts and feelings, he may not have always had a filter, but he was ALWAYS heartfelt. In that spirit, I'll forgo appropriate for honesty. I can't say bye or write you a beautiful eulogy because I don't UNDERSTAND what or how or why he was taken like this. I am angry for him - this IS unfair. He deserved better. I wish I could wake up on Thursday and change this chain of events, or call, or see him, or be there.

I wish I had gone to hang out every time I was too moody/busy/lazy. I wish I had called more. I wish I had taken more pictures. I wish I had more time and used it wisely. I wish I could debate/argue/ bargain with someone to bring Matt back.... I am so angry for every second that I don't remember because I thought I would have another one.... I cannot tie up this post in a bow of a clichés and silver linings. Grieving is grieving.

However, this loss has forced me to look at my loved ones with more tenderness and patience and appreciation - sometimes we need to re evaluate where our time is spent: Desk vs. Home. TV vs. Friend. Game vs. Talking... Sometimes we need to be a lil more like Matt and text someone and say "Coffee?"

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Love you guys.

The prayer requests from last Friday night are located under the "Past Prayers & Testimonies" tab to the right of the screen.

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November 2011, Railroad Park visit

June 2010, FNF family at Tre's graduation

June 2010, Tre' trying to show some love to his best friend.

November 2011, Taj India after stuffing ourselves on a Diwali feast.

July 2009, Chattanooga -- Tubing Fun

Sloss Furnace 2011 photo shoot -- Making Karah LOL, not CIS

Railroad Park 2011-- Just having fun

October 2009, FNF @Angela's ... Before Gen & Rose, there were Tre' & Matt.

July 2009 -- FNF Camping/Tubing group photo

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July 13th -- Keeping it Real

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-13

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Hello good people!

Hope you are all making the most of the summer and enjoying this 'cold snap' that we are having.

Chichi will host FNF this Friday.

We will have dinner ready by 6:30pm and start the study at 7:30pm.

Our speaker is the super cool Pastor DaMarrus Miller who has been working on something quite special for the group.

Please bring your bibles, a friend and, if you can, fruit or drinks to help out.

A few more things...

Thank you to everyone who helped with FNF last week! I was really worried when hardly anyone signed up to bring anything but we ended up with a veritable feast (still eating leftover beans), a huge crowd, a wonderful study and inspiring testimonies and praise reports. Special thanks to Ann who brought at least one of everything on the list of suggested items.

Umm, so I found the image below and thought to share it on the blog : "Steps to Real Repentance."

God bless & see you on Friday!

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Prayer Requests

... Simon's family

... Sandra - school, finances & major decision

... Geneva's brother - job & relationship with God

... Victor's mom's cousin who had a stroke

... An ability to witness, especially in science fields

... Many unspoken requests

Reports of Praise

... Geneva - God's direction & acceptance into nursing school

... Brian - God's direction with next steps

... Rose - For Geneva's awesome job placement skills

... Mikhail - wife's interview

... Adey - patience, God's guidance, success at GRE, acceptance into PhD program, faith, love

... Marcus - resolution of Sabbath conflicts, opportunity to share faith

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Prayer Requests

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

Praying that all did well on exams/coursework this week & finished the semester strong!

Christina -- Praying for her mother's health.

Zeke -- Thankful for travelling mercies to Canada and praying for words of wisdom as he speaks to the youth of British Columbia.

Adé -- Praying for her mother's health and strength.

Eliel -- Praying for traveling mercies to Michigan.

Victor -- Praying that his brother does well in truck driving school; also praying that Victor will continue to be a good Christian influence to him.  Shared testimony of how God continues to provide jobs for him.

Candeis -- Praying for peace, understanding and safety of her brother's family.

Pastor Horton -- Praising God for his son passing a test to become a teacher!

Melody -- Praying for paying dental patients.

Martina -- Praying for guidance and patience.

Cara -- Praying that her father continues to make progress and that he'll have a complete recovery.  She's also thankful to God for providing them with a home!

Vuyo -- Praying for those who were/still are affected by the tornadoes of April 27th, 2011.

Ryan -- Praying for the bible studies that he is having with the two young men from GA; that they will be brought closer to God.

Rose -- Praying for patience with family and an increase in clientele.

Chinwe -- Gave thanks for God's faithfulness and timeliness; was happy to see everyone again.

Thank you Pastor Horton for the wonderfully challenging study and thanks in advance for when you come back to lead out again with Mrs. Horton!

Thank you Ryan and Leah for being awesomely accomodating hosts! Can't believe how much I loved the vegan everything!

Memory Verse ... (because God has been so good this week)...Psalms 40

 Love y'all!

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Prayer Requests

Brian --  Praying about the new school year.

For everyone jumping into a new semester of teaching & learning,

we lifted you all in prayer on Friday.

Vuyo -- Praying for more faith & trust in God.

Trudy -- Praying for mom & sister's health. 

Thankful for experiences & summer's shadow opportunity.

Musekwa -- Gave thanks to God for his new job!

Symon - Thankful for God's on-time provision & answered prayer.

Lots of unspoken prayer requests, both of personal and intercessory natures -- Melody, Rose, Geneva, Tancia.

Last Friday's study was wonderful-- thanks Victor & Ryan! 

{Paraphrased} Quote of the night: 

"Although it's an honor to be tempted like Jesus, we must be honorable when tempted."  Brian M.

Memory Verse (for the hard times)... Psalms 91

Until Friday, have a great week!

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Prayer Requests

If you missed FNF, here are some of the things we are thankful for and praying about this week.

Victor -- praying for the Lord to remove anger from his heart.

Hilary -- has an interview TODAY (Monday). Praying that it'll go well.

Geneva -- thankful that her granddad's surgery was successful.

Musekwa -- thankful for a good semester & an "A" in Calculus.

Kirk -- thankful to be done with radiation therapy earlier than planned with no serious adverse side effects.

Tonika-- Praying for endurance for the next 5 months and praises God for lots of Progress in that area!

Ryan-- Asks for prayer about his personal issue.

Also, can we please pray for those FNFers who haven't been around for awhile? Those who have moved away, those who are gone for the summer and those who are just not able to make it.

Finally, Ryan led an awesome study on the 2nd Angel's Message ("Babylon is fallen...") and closed with this text from Jeremiah 29: 4-18. If you're feeling a bit down, read that and be encouraged.

Have a great week & see you on Friday!

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Prayer Requests

If you missed FNF, here are some of the things that we are praying about this week. Please remember to bring one or two of these things to God in your prayers and we will watch as He works out His answers!

• the Japanese people and country's strong recovery
• Chinwe's BIG DEADLINE/defense on Friday.
• Hilary & Matt as they share the faith through bible study with friends. Also, that God'll work through them to witness to their family.
• Rose's prayer for an increase in clientele.
• Chere-Ann (& Chinwe) to find a job; also for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
• Zeke's family in California (safety).
• Raymond (& other students/teachers) to excel and finish the semester strong. Also, for the drive-thru prayer efforts.
• Matt gave thanks that we have salvation and the ability to pray/ a way to approach God.

In light of Matt's praise of God's goodness (& the gift of a big, beautiful moon visible once Sabbath ended), I'll leave you with this text from Psalms 8:3-5.

³ When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

Have a great week!

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Prayer Requests

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4: 6-7 (Message)

Cara- praise for God's leading, ask Him to open or close doors as He guides

Adei - trust, summer classes, more trust!

Aquila - aunt still in hospital, pray for healing

Bev & Allen - starting IVF treatment Sunday!!

Raymond - summer classes, finances, health concerns, endurance

Toyin - embarkation on something new

Tancia - dad's health (Mr. Nash), family for loss of young cousin

ChiChi - knee surgery, doctors wisdom

Vuyo - thanksgiving & praise in God's blessing summer program

Tre & Karah - praise & thanksgiving for God's answers and "leading through the storm"

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Prayin' For Sun

Time to start praying for some serious sunshine this weekend . . . if you want to go camping and have a good time.

God knows how much we're all looking forward to this!

Here who is coming camping:

Thompson family

Rono family

Trents

Galvans

Symon, Symon & Jeff

Raymond & girlfriend

Adey

Latika

Stephanie

ChiChi, Mose, Sush & 2 friends

CJ & Hiks

Enoch

Vuyo

I'm pretty sure we'll have enough space in tents also. That is good. Right? :)

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Prayer Requests to Remember

• For all of us: strength to persevere and wisdom to know what God desires of us.
• Toyin's mom to be safe during trip to Nigeria, and that Toyin's paper can be finished soon!
• Cara's application to grad school!
• Sarah's friend Cassie to find good safe housing near UAB, and health and healing for her friend Andrea
• Leah to be able to prepare for next semester and get ahead
• Praise from Barika for self- realization, and strength to continue to show love and kindness. Also for Mrs. Edwards to feel God's healing touch.
• Candace that Makayla will have a safe and positive trip to her father this summer, and for her friend to continue to allow God to lead in His life.
• Catherine's client to know that someone believes in her and to continue to stay in her treatment program.
• Tancia's friend who is testing soon, her friend who needs to pass the BAR exam, and continued prayers for Mr. Nash as he completes his chemo and radiation.

Also, pray for our friends who weren't able to come this week. Pray that they will feel God's blessing in their lives!

Prayers are heard in heaven in proportion to our faith. Little faith gets very great mercies, but great faith still greater. -- Spurgeon

No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it. ~Guy H. King

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Prayer Requests

There are several big requests that we brought to God this past week in prayer. Today and throughout the week, please remember:

• Tancia's dad Mr. Nash, recent biopsy of his brain.
  
• Sarah is taking her Optometry boards today and tomorrow
• Ryan's health and healing and peace

Morning, noon, and night
I cry out in my distress,
and the Lord hears my voice. Ps. 55:17

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

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Prayer Requests

If you missed FNF last night, here are some of the things that we are praying about this week. Please remember to bring one or two of these things to God in your prayers and we will watch as He works out His answers!

• Sarah- her mom's flower shop is for sale and needs to sell quickly AND for her clinical skills as she begins to work with patients.
• Rebekah- her aunt Hilda is struggling with health issues
• Aquila - find a new grant study for work
• Javier & ChiChi - immigration status
• Karah - two friends from work who are struggling with their marriages

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